These cannabis plants were found growing at a property in Apsley Road, Great Yarmouth

A 23-year-old was arrested today after police in Yarmouth found a cannabis factory with hundreds of plants, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of pounds, at a home in Apsley Road in the town.

It is thought the total street value of the haul may be more than £100,000 when fully assessed, after plants were found growing in several rooms. Police executed a warrant at the address around 10.30am this morning and found the large growing set-up with hundreds of plants in various stages of development.

A 23-year-old man, who was at the address, has been arrested in connection with the find and he has been taken into custody at Great Yarmouth Police Investigation Centre to be interviewed by officers.

In Norfolk, the number of crimes relating to cultivating cannabis has gone up from 91 in 2007 to 195 in 2012.

Last month, a cannabis factory with more than 900 plants, worth £500,000, was found inside a former cigar storage building in Nethergate Street, Bungay

More than £1m of cannabis and tobacco was seized following the discovery of one of the county’s largest cannabis farms in recent years at Bradenham near Dereham, in November last year.

It is believed that a prolonged crackdown by police in London has forced growers and dealers to shift their operations out of the capital and into the regions – with East Anglia increasingly on the radar.

The criminals are also moving from industrial-scale factories to smaller operations – often in homes or outbuildings.